Monday, March 25, 2013

Monday

Ahh another Monday. I have some spare time while subbing so I figure I can write up a post. I am subbing for an English class at Edina High School. I find subbing high schools is either incredibly boring or interesting. It all depends on what classroom you're in. Sometimes I actually get to lead some fun and engaging lessons/activities. Most times though it usually it involves handing out a worksheet and telling the students to finish it by the end of the hour or popping in a movie that I will end up watching 5 times over. It isn't horrible, but I feel underutilized. It is understandable because some substitute teachers have no background knowledge in any subject, so teachers will write a general, easy to accomplish lesson for the day. Needless to say I look forward to not having to sub anymore.

I have been tossing the idea around of doing some winter fat bike racing. Over the summer I plan on building up a fat bike. I have the drive train, so I need a frame and wheels. Then I will probably do the Tuscobia and the Arrowhead 135. I have a lot of gear to obtain and training to do before those things happen though. I am sure it will also depend on what job I have next winter. We shall see what happens. I am expecting big things for this spring, summer, and fall.

I am sure I will think of other things to post, but not right now.


“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

Friday, March 22, 2013

March Madness

I don't mean basketball. I think the sport is boring to watch. Fun to play with friends like Ese, Hady, and Aaron. Though I am terrible at playing. I mean March is insanity in terms of weather. I don't mind the snow, quite the opposite really, I love it. I am finding more motivation to run, and am missing skiing. I haven't gone skiing in a few weeks and it makes me feel as though I am missing out on a fundamental aspect of winter.

I might do an 8k on Sunday. I haven't run one of those in years. Pretty sure it would wreck my legs, but feel absolutely wonderful at the same time. I also need to hop on the bike a bit more. Almonzo will be here before long. 100 miles of gravel on a single speed? Sounds great eh?

Another exciting item of information I got a job with Three Rivers Park District to be an outdoor recreation educator. I am excited about that to say the least. Now it will be a matter of working my schedule so I am not busy all the time. I do wish I shall be able to accomplish that task.

It is Friday! Weekend is here.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Motivation?

I am having some difficulties finding my motivation. I think it has to do mostly with what I tell myself, "I will run when I get home." That phrase is killing me. I am still running, and even biking. Although I could be doing so much more. My troubles arise when I don't get up in the morning to go run. If I were to do that I would get my run over with on the days that I work till 8 p.m. I just need to do it. I am a notorious when it comes to hitting snooze. I want an alarm clock that turns on the light or runs around the house forcing me out of bed to turn it off. I could also just harden up and get up. I know for a fact Journey is always game for a run. Doesn't matter to him what time it is.

I gotta start hitting the running hard. I have races coming up and I need to do well at them. I feel as if I have a pretty good base built up from skiing and running over the winter, but I would like to build my mileage back up to 70+ per week. The running plus roller-skiing, biking, and swimming (hopefully). I know I can do this because I have done it before. I need better time management skills. Blah. Enough complaining.

On the positive side of life I have an interview today with Three Rivers Park District. I am interviewing for an outdoor recreational education position. I think this could be quite fun. If the pay is nice, and the hours are good I will do this in place of summer school. I wouldn't mind teaching people about outdoor activities! Maybe this will turn into a full-time job! I could then work at Three Rivers and Gear West and slowly take over the world! More realistically I would just inspire people to become healthier and make better choices. I would like to foster environmental awareness and increase the number of people who participate outdoor adventures. That is just a good goal no matter where I work. It is a big reason I bike to school when I teach or walk to the store. There are better, healthier ways to do the same duties. Minnesota has a great network of bike routes, paths, and streets with bike lanes that could potentially allow anyone to commute to work or school via bicycle. I believe most people just don't realize how easy and enjoyable it could be. I have been doing research about commuting via bike to put up as a blog post. I found some pretty interesting facts and statistics. I will post that once the snow melts in the hopes that more people will attempt to give it a go. People tend to be more inclined to go outside when it isn't cold. I find it refreshing, but some days it does make me question my sanity.

Here is a poem for the coming spring. I thought highly of it. It may be a little early, but its fun to read nonetheless.

Spring Pools by Robert Frost
These pools that, though in forests, still reflect
The total sky almost without defect,
And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,
Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,
And yet not out by any brook or river,
But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.
The trees that have it in their pent-up buds
To darken nature and be summer woods --
Let them think twice before they use their powers
To blot out and drink up and sweep away
These flowery waters and these watery flowers
From snow that melted only yesterday.

Friday, March 8, 2013

It's Friday

I enjoy a good Friday every week. Yesterday I took the day off. I didn't get a sub job that interested me so I slept in. I then got up, did some cleaning, and then took Journey to the dog park. It was a good time up there. He was bounding through the snow with endless grace and speed. It is highly enjoyable to watch  Journey run with unrivaled joy from one side of the park to the other. We stayed here for a little over an hour before we took off to head back home. Attempting to leave is usually tricky. Trying to catch Journey and bring him home is a very difficult task.

I got back and then set out for Hady's house. We laced up the runners and went for a cool 10 mile run. The warm sun gracing my face and hands was a much welcomed experience. I need to keep up the running and start biking. I have some big races in mind and I cannot slack in the training department.

Still haven't quite figured out the summer yet. I have been looking at some jobs for Three Rivers Park District  because they have quite a few positions open for the summer that would suit me well. Outdoor recreational educator is one I am pondering. Teaching outside? Yes please!


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

All about the Birkebeiner

So it took me a little while to get this post up. The Birkebeiner was on February 23. I went up on the Wednesday before the race. The expo was Thursday and Friday. The race was Saturday and the demos were on Sunday. I was working at the Salomon trail running booth with Derek from the run shop. It was a fun, albeit exhausting, time. Evan was kicking butt at the One Way booth. Lots of people were buzzing around there.

This is how Wednesday went: I stopped by QBP in Bloomington to pick up a bunch of START wax for Evan. That was the first time going there for me. That place is very neat. Potential place of employment??? I picked up about $15,000 worth of wax. Then while I was filling up gas at the gas station some dude says, "What kind of explosives do you have in your car?" To which I replied, quite seriously I might add, "Wax explosives." Weird people. Then I was off to Evan's place to load up the car with all sorts of One Way stuff. The car was packed. This was going to be the first long trip in the Subaru. I was highly excited. I then spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon running around town to drop off poles and pick up stuff from Hoigaards and again to QBP for more wax. Finally finished with errands I left for Hayward. The drive was nice and quick. I got to Hayward and promptly brought stuff to Riverbrook. One Way and START Wax were partnered with Riverbrook for the expo. After all of that we went to the Angry Minnow for some food. We stayed the night at Evan's buddy's house and played Mario Kart! Epic.

Thursday: Got up and went to the middle school for the expo. I helped  Evan set up the One Way booth. It was looking good there. I was waiting for the Salomon folks to show up, so I could begin helping out there. Once they showed up we set up the Salomon booth and got everything ready. Around noon is when people started to trickle in to pick up their packet and check out the expo and vendors. Thursday it the shorter of the two days. The expo only goes till about 9 p.m. Derek, Adam, and I were rockin' the trail running. Adam also brought all of the new 2013 shoes. There are so many sweet shoes. I must get them all! We didn't sell a ton of shoes Thursday, but on Friday we did far better. When the expo shut down we went to Coop's Pizza. They make a real good pie. After the pizza we checked into our motel... Twas a shady motel, but it was cozy. The people in the room across from us had a little dog in their room... Yes it was yipping. Yes it was annoying.

Friday: Get up. Go to expo. Work from 9 a.m. to 9ish p.m. This is when most people will pick up their packet. The line is huge and the people are ready. We sold a lot more shoes this day than the previous. Evan was keeping busy at his booth too! It was good to see. I did have some guy come up to me and ask what was new with the 2013 Salomon S-lab skate pro boot. I told him that they moved the buckle a little bit and that was one of the bigger changes. This is when he said, "Good. Your boot broke my pole. Every 15k or so I would hit the buckle with my pole." I told him that "my boot" didn't do a damn thing. I didn't design it. I didn't make him ski in such a way that he steps on his own pole! He still insisted it was my boot's fault. I told him to go get a new pole. I don't like when people blame me for things I have zero control over. The ski boot being one of them. Ha, oh well. There is always a fool in the bunch. Once we were finished with the expo it was back to the motel for some chow and to watch Evan nearly explode when I told him that they are going to lock the wax room before he can get in there to wax about 15 pair of skis. It all worked out though. He was able to sweet-talk the manager to keep it open. Evan and Svan stayed up all-night getting those skis done.

Saturday: The big dance. We all got up around 6 a.m. to head to the start line. we hopped into the car and drove up to the Telemark Lodge. I met up with Josh so we could do our usual spectating and handing out water and energy to people! Once we got to the start line Mariah put on her kick wax we bid her farewell and good luck! Josh and I headed back to the car to go to our first spot. Northern Lights Road is where we had our first stop. We got there before any of the classic racers. This is when we become volunteer volunteers. We grab cups of water or energy and hand them to racers. It is quite fun. We have been doing this for 3 years now. We get better every year. This aid station I saw everyone: Mason, Oumar, Trevor, Elanor, Alan, Adam, and Mariah, Tons of others too. Awesome.

Once we saw them pass we headed to "00" where we parked and did the same thing at that aid station. After we left this place to head to our next stop is when things got interesting. I got the Subaru stuck in a parking lot earlier at the Sawmill and thought that our troubles were over once Josh helped get me unstuck. Nope. Josh and I decide we are going to the aid station Phipps Fire Lane. This is the same road that 3 years ago we got the van stuck. No way that could happen again. We have a Subaru! All wheel drive, to me, means that I can drive through anything. We start down the road and it is mostly plowed. Then it turns into not being plowed. We do see other car tracks and think that it's all good. Well once we start on this "road" we realize that it was a poor choice as this road is mostly meant for snowmobiles. All seems fine for the first few minutes because the trail is pretty packed down. We do decide that we must turn around at the next high point. Low and behold right before that occurs the car drifts to the side too far and we get stuck. The whole right side of the car goes off the side of the trail into the deep, soft snow. Now we are super stuck. Josh and I laugh about it because what else are we to do? Snowmobiles drive pass and we can tell they think we are fools. I don't blame them. I called Sven and let him know I will not be to the finish line for quite some time. Two trucks pass by and tell us that they will pull us out once they turn around. Excellent! Once they get back to us they give us even better news: The tractor that grooms the trail is coming and can pull us out! Only minor detail is we don't have a towrope. Josh does in his car though. Once the tractor gets to us Josh hopped in and went with him to the end of the trail, hitchhiked to his car, got his rope, drove back to the trail head, climbed back into the tractor, and they came back to the car. We hooked up the Subaru to the tractor and he towed us out. It took about 100m before the car climbed back up onto trail and out of the deep snow. We were very thankful he came along.

Once we were back on the trail Josh did a 30-point turn and we were turned around headed back to actual roads. All in all I think we were stuck for about 1 hour. Not too bad. It was because of this that we didn't get to go to any other aid stations and just went right to the finishing line. We didn't miss too much. I also did not get any exciting photos from during the race. Next year I think Josh and I will just spectate on snowmobiles. This way if we get stuck or stranded it will mean we really messed up! After the race we all went to Coops for some after Birkie chow. It was a lot of fun. The big dance was over, we were out of Phipps Fire, and on our way to relaxation.

We got back to the motel so everyone could shower and change. I went to the pool area to jump into the hot tub. My lower back felt as though I was 95 years old. The hot water allowed my lower back to attain the age of 25 once more. I also ended up chatting with a few people from Madison. They were happy with how their race went. I sat in the swirling water for quite some time. I then returned to the room and Evan, Sven, and a couple of Evan's buddies were lounging around. Sven laid down and fell asleep. Evan laid down and fell asleep. This was at 4 p.m. Guess their lack of sleep caught up with them. I attempted to get Sven to rally by drinking a rockstar... It didn't happen! Oh well. Around 9 I headed to the Sawmill to see everyone. It was packed as usual. I hung out, chatted with friends, and then left around 11 p.m. I drove Tom back to Jan's cabin because everyone left him stranded there! I can't leave a friend behind. I got back to the motel. Sven was awake for some odd reason. He looked like a zombie earlier. Evan was sleeping, and his buddies were hanging out watching some T.V. As soon as my head hit the pillow it was off to dreamland. Only to wake up at 6:30 to head to "00" for the demos.

Sunday: Demo day. I helped Evan at the One Way demo tent. It was a perfect day for it. The weather was perfect and the trails were expertly groomed. Each company had their skis, boots, and poles to try out. A good amount of people actually showed up! It was nice. The fun thing about the demos were that it wasn't nearly as hectic as the past few days. This was way more relaxed. Sven was with us and was running around trying out everything. The demos went from 8am-3pm. Another long day, but once it was over Birkie week was done! We could go home after this. Back to our own beds where the pillows awaited our return. After the demos were done we went home. We stopped at Applebees and had a bite to eat. Sven took some super weird way to get there and I became paranoid that I followed the wrong car! We were going through all sorts of back roads and country roads. Once I realized that we were just taking a faster route to Applebees in Cambridge I was no longer on edge. I was still dismayed that we had to eat there. Blah. I managed through it. I would say it was about another hour before we got back to Maple Plain where  I stopped at the One Way office to  unload all the stuff. Having accomplished the unloading I went and drove myself home. I got back around 10 p.m where I emptied all my bags, threw in a load of laundry, laid down and drifted off to sleep.

All in all it was a highly successful week. Salomon is going to hook me up with some gear for helping out at the expo too! Boom. Josh and I are planning for next year already-snowmobiles. Mason, Sven, and others are attempting to convince me to race it next year... We will see. I like cheering and spectating.

Last night we got a good amount of snow and it is still snowing. I will ski as much as I can. March always brings one last good round of snow. Ski season isn't finished yet. Biking season will start soon and the thought of that is intoxicating. I look forward to early morning rides, night rides, epic mtn bike rides, and gravel races! I also plan on running my brains out. I have started planning my racing for this season. Excited!

I am also on the lookout for Green Apple Rockstar. I must try it!

Over and out!